RETHINK

Closed

1. This project will address the growing need to address the social & economic exclusion of young people in the 18-30 age group with a history of mental illness. A cross border approach is needed because the young people in this target group in the partner regions face common barriers to inclusion including fragmented services insufficently tailored to their needs ( eg community health, housing, family/community support) & a lack of suitable training /support programmes. The cross border approach will also bring together relevant professionals & distinct specialisms of the partners to develop a more comprehensive & integrated response to the target group's needs. 2. The project is highly innovative in that it will develop a holistic & transferable education/training & support programme which will build on the experience /expertise of the R & D Centre Linkoping in Sweden & Zemgale Planning Region in Latvia in developing services to promote the inclusion of this target group. The programme will be flexible , & will include personal action planning, the recruitment & training of mentors, & a toolkit of options including arts/creative activities, sports, excursions, volunteering, vocational 'taster courses & work experience to support individuals in moving closer to the labour market. 3. The project's activities will include mapping the needs/barriers of young people within the 2 regions plus services available/ gaps in provision, establishing regional Stakeholder Forums of professionals, training providers,NGOs & employers, development of mentoring & training/support programmes, piloting these with 20 mentors and 40 young people & evaluating & disseminating the results. 4. The main project results will be; - Sustainable cross border network. - 1 joint training /support programme for young people with mental health problems. - Piloting this with 40 young people. - 140 people participating.

Medium